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HIM
HIM HIM is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindstorm, and bassist Mikko "Mige" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Mige, Janne "Emerson Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards and Mika Karppinen on drums. They have released 7 full-length albums to date, the latest, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, released on Feb 8, 2010. On Sept 5, 2006, HIM's 5th studio album Dark Light was certified gold by the RIAA, making HIM the first Finnish band to have a gold album in the US. 5 of heir albums were certified platinum in Finland with Razor-blade Romance being certified double platinum in Finland and platinum in Germany. Genre HIM's genre is debated in some circles; on their album, Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights, it says their genre is "alternative" but their musical style is also often referred to as "love metal" by Valo and by the group's fans. Valo has stated that the band started as a Black Sabbath tribute band of sorts". Valo also stated in an interview on the Love Metal Archives Vol. I DVD, that he was fed up with journalists and interviewers asking him (Valo), and the rest of the band what the genre of HIM was. He said in answer to that question that they were "love metal" (which was also the name of their 2003 album). Critics have referred to them as Gothic metal, dark rock, Gothic rock, alternative metal, and heavy metal. Their Name and Logo Their name stands for His Infernal Majesty. The heartagram is a symbol that combines a heart and a pentagram. The logo was created by Ville Valo to be a sort of yin-yang symbol; the pentagram portion of the symbol stands for evil or darkness, while the heart portion stands for goodness or light. Due to the pentagram portion of the symbol, some perceive it to be satanic in nature. However, the heartagram is simply meant to represent dueling concepts of love, hate, not specifically Satan. It is not intended as a symbol of satanic worship, the symbols stands for Love Metal. Valo says the band is more known for their logo than their music. The heartagram plays a role in Bam Margera's life as well as Valo's. Margera and Valo have a shared ownership of the heartagram, for the two are good friends. People think the symbol belongs to Margera, but it belongs to the band more than him. Margera has the symbol on his doors on his house, on his shoes and some other things. Valo does not regret the shared ownership. Although he does wish people would recognize where the symbol came from, and possibly become a fan of their music. Members ;Current members *Ville Valo -- lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1991–present) *Mikko "Linde" Lindstrom — lead guitar, acoustic guitar(1991–present) *Mikki "Mige" Paananen —bass guitar, backing vocals (1991–1992, 1995–present) *Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen —drums, percussion (1999–present) * Janne Puurtinen — keyboard, backing vocals (2001–present) Former Members ;Former members *Juippi — drums, percussion (1991–1992) *Juha Tarvonen — drums, percussion (1991–1992) *Oki — guitar (1996) *Antto Melasniemi — keyboard (1995–1999) *Juhana Tuomas "Pätkä" Rantala — drums, percussion (1995–1999) *Sergei Ovalov —keyboard (1999, touring only) *Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen — keyboard (1999–2001) Category:Bands and Artists